Mayoral Forum on Energy and the Environment

And just to give a little bit of history about this forum. So, a few years ago Kerry Ristler with 100% Athens, who's back there hiding, um did a similar forum for What year was that, Kerry? >> Maybe 2018? >> 2018? Something like that. >> Something like that. >> Something like that. And that is forum sort of led to the creation of the Athens 100% clean and renewable energy plan. So, this year we wanted to bring that tradition back and have another candidate forum on energy and the environment. So, I'm really excited for everyone to be here. And I think what we're going to do is we have five questions. So, each candidate will first start out with their opening statement for 1 minute just to introduce themselves, and then we'll go ahead into questions. So, let's start with the opening statements. And for this one, let's start with Mara, and everybody will get 1 minute to share. >> Good evening, everyone. My name is Mara Zuniga. I am originally from Managua, Nicaragua. I can tell you this, uh Latin Americans, we value natural resources. And I speak Spanish fluently. I would be able to inform the third largest voting population here in Athens about our environmental policies and how it affects them. I also live I've been living on a farm for 20 years. My kids grew up on a farm, climbing trees and learning about our environment and learning to be good stewards. We also have had uh nonprofits on our farm to come and learn uh the importance of bees and organic practices. My husband and I, uh we run an asbestos abatement company. We've been doing that for 30 years. And I have 20 years background in banking and finance. I have experience in budgets, investments, state and federal uh of And I look forward to applying my skills in these areas to the position of mayor. Thank you. >> Well, good afternoon. Good afternoon, everyone. Excuse me, for my sinuses killing me today. But anyway, I'm Dexter Fischer. Um, been here 38 years at Athens-Clarke County. And um, I've had the pleasure of um, actually starting programs not only in um, climate control and energy efficiency, but also recycling. University of Georgia was one of the first universities in the um, country to start a recycling program. And then that led to us having a sustainability um, department. So, what we're doing tonight is very important. As your next mayor, I'll be leading this initiative to make sure that we're 100% um, energy efficient over the next several years, but it's going to take some time. But um, I've done this type of work before not only with the school system, with UGA. And so, I do have the expertise and understand what this means and how we can lead this um, community to be energy efficient and also doing with and dealing with climate control. >> Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Can you hear me? Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I'm Sharon Miller. I am running for the position of mayor uh, to be hired by the citizens of Athens-Clarke County. I bring to my candidacy uh, I bring to my candidacy a leadership style centered around policy, polity, and partnership. I believe that those three entities will help lead our city forward. And as a mayor, I want to implement those entities for change and affect change for all of our citizens here in Clarke County. I invite you to uh, go by all of our tables at including mine to receive uh documents that give you further uh information about my background and my leadership abilities as we run this race. I'm Sharon Williams. >> Good evening, everyone. My name is Laquisha Gantt and I am running to be your next mayor. Um I'm a native Athenian. Um I'm a mom, a daughter, um a community friend, uh advocate, um former president of the school board uh member. But most importantly, I am someone who grew up in a neighborhood that has been redeveloped. Um and a lot of the redevelopments that you'll see in Athens, there's no space for green space. There's no consideration of sustainability. And so, a large part of the work that we will have to do at in the community is bridge the gap. We can have goals, but if communities cannot connect with those goals, then we cannot collectively move us forward with the remaining work that needs to be done with this plan. I look forward to um sharing more information about my candidacy um and looking forward to addressing your questions. >> Good evening, everyone. My name's Tim Denson. I'm running for mayor of Athens-Clarke County. And uh one of my one of the big reasons is because Athens has become unaffordable and truly hasn't become a community that is for everyone. And for us to have an Athens for everyone, for one thing, Athens still has to exist as a community that is safe and healthy for people to live in. And that can only happen for future generations if we are taking smart, prudent steps uh combating climate change and making sure that we are prepared for the fallouts of climate change here in our own community. I I proudly was at that 2018 one that was addressed earlier and proudly as a commissioner I kept my promises that I was going to fight to bring about smart decisions that help our climate, help future generations here and was one of the commissioners that actually passed 100% renewable Athens renewable project and resolution and supported those things through. I look forward to talking to y'all more about that as we go on. Thank you. >> Wonderful. Thanks so much. So for our next question, we'll have each candidate will have two minutes to respond and we'll start with Dexter Fischer and go the same way around that we went last time. Question, it's climate related problems often act as force multipliers. For example, warmer air can retain more moisture which acts to increase heat stress on the body or to add more precipitation to a hurricane leading to more intense flooding. Visionary infrastructure will be needed to prepare for natural disasters the strength of which we have not yet experienced. As mayor, what planning mechanisms will you put in place to allow Athens-Clarke County to become more resilient to climate related disasters that may occur in your term or even further down the line for future mayors? >> Well, first of all, I will establish a climate resilient task force made up of local scientists, engineers, public health experts and community leaders. And the job would be to continue to assess risk for flood, heat, infrastructure strain and translate that into actionable policy. Secondly, I would require that all major infrastructure investment pass a future stress test. That means roads, drainage systems, public buildings must be designed for climate conditions we expect, not the ones we have to. And third, we need to be data driven. Preparedness, modernized storm water systems, expanding tree canopy to reduce heat islands, and improve early warning systems. One of the things I've been pushing is we need to have a emergency management in place. Now, we have a coordinator, but in my opinion, that person need to be a director. And they need to be coordinating all these type of things as we move forward as we deal with whatever type of catastrophe we may have in this community. You know, we were fortunate last year that the hurricane missed us. It went to Augusta. But if you saw what happened in Augusta and other areas, it was devastating. I want to make sure that we as a community, if that happened in Athens-Clarke County, that we are prepared. That we know what resources that we need to get to. We know who we need to to act to make sure that we get those people here on the ground to make sure we can take care of our First of all, the residents, make sure that they're safe, and make sure that we're doing what we need to do to take care of this community. It's vital that we have all our partners in play. And that's going to be really important when we talk about disasters that may, you know, hit our community. And I hope that never happen, but we need to be prepared. That's why it's so important that we have a emergency management department for the style to make sure that we can deal with these type of issues as things like this come about. So, I'm prepared to do those things. I'm ready to do those things, and I'm ready to go to work and make this happen. Thank you. >> My approach to this question, ladies and gentlemen, would be, and God forbid that we ever have what the communities on the coast are currently dealing with, their fires. And so, we are mindful of natural disasters can happen to our community. I would approach this vision and infrastructure systems. I would make sure that all of our systems are are prepared and in place. I would look at the hard, the soft, the critical visionary infrastructure systems. And yes, I would also get with our directors of sustainability and all of those departments that indirectly and directly deal with to help support us if we are hit with a disaster unforeseen to our community and make sure that those systems are in place before a disaster so that we can effectively communicate with our citizens, their exit, their protection at all costs. And then make sure after the disaster that there is sustainability for our ability to recover. And and then I would certainly pull on FEMA and every level of the local and state government and federal to help us out of a disaster. That would be my plan if I am elected mayor. >> Um so just want to reiterate that, you know, sometimes we talk about these um disasters and events um as we sort of authorize them, but there's a way in which we are at an increased risk of any event at any time. Whether we're talking about droughts or fires, um a lot of that is a result of climate shifts and climate changes. And so I think there are a variety of different things I want to try to hit on some of them um with the time that I have, one is I can't overemphasize the importance of actually educating the community. Um, there is a gap that exists right now in Athens, Georgia. Although we have our um, clean and renewable energy plan, there's still a gap as far as like how the community understands not just climate change, but also the implications for them and the small concrete steps that they can take on a preventative side, not to fully prevent climate change, but to help us move in a more sustainable um, direction. And so I do think there's a lot of misinformation out there. Um, also I think we have to update the public on where we are. Um, just like we have like a state of the union, a state of the state, we really need updates on where we are with our efforts um, to meet our sustainability goals. I also think that as we take action, as a governing body takes action, we need to actually be able to see the impact. How does this move us closer towards our goal or how does it move us further away or is it perhaps neutral? Um, additionally, I want to mention this because I may run out of time in mentioning some of the other things, but there's some work like in our state and in our region that centers the community. Um, something called just energy circles. I really do think we have to actually collaborate with the community and be prepared to collaborate to be able to to prevent um, and take action on some of the issues. >> So, uh, one and one thing we also need to keep in mind here, right, is that whenever we do have these kind of natural disasters, uh, that are again becoming more and more often because of climate change, that they more drastically affect lower income communities more than the others. Um, so very very because of that, you know, climate justice is very much an economic and racial justice issue also. And so, when it comes to like what we have to see it the ways that that that we have control over as a local government on the things that we can do here. Uh definitely when it comes to flooding, that's been one of the biggest things that we have seen actual impacts here in Athens-Clarke County. Bridges being washed out, roads being washed out, um and and having massive impacts on businesses, on homeowners not being able to get to their houses easily, all of those things. And so, one of the things we need to be looking at is uh we can we pave a lot of roads, we pave a lot of things, and we also require a lot of uh businesses and planning stuff to have to pave a lot of concrete when they build something. We need to be looking at that and seeing what kind of requirements are we putting in place where we're requiring impervious surfaces to be put in place, which causes more and more flooding, more and more stormwater issues. Um so, that's something we definitely have control over. Um another big thing is which was brought up in the question is the heat islands. Um thankfully, uh Athens-Clarke County has really taken some positive steps there. Whenever I was on the commission, we had a community tree study that was put in place that found that Athens-Clarke County actually has the largest tree canopy percentage of any city in Georgia with more than 100,000 people living in it. That is something that we really need to embrace and continue going on. Uh so, that really impacts where we're going to build houses. That's one of the big reasons I'm pushing for more density because if we can't go off and start cutting down all the trees that are remaining here so that we can build more houses, we have to get more dense and be more prepared when it comes to us planning for future growth. >> So, after we missed a hurricane here, I believe this would have been a conversation that policy makers should have had. But we didn't have it. Uh not the schools and not the local government. And that's a little concerning for me because on a personal level, I like I said, I have been doing some things for the past 20 years on my farm and I've tried to also educate people that come to the farm to let them know about the things that are necessary in reference to like let's say enhancing our green infrastructure, which is protecting our wetlands, sanctuaries, forests, tree canopies. We have all these things on the farm. And we inform the community of such things that can help the community and our environment. Also looking at upgrading building codes because there are some areas where there has been some building which is a problem. When I was uh when I was looking at Inner East Athens, we were looking at the quarry because the quarry was creating some problems in the area. We actually saw a property that was being built by a creek and it was getting damaged. And and I wondered how how did these people get an approval to build a house in such an area? So, we have to look at our building codes. Now, on the technical side, we are not prepared for disasters. I was looking online. First of all, it's very hard to get some information online and when you do find them, you find that they're personal plans. There's no community plan to attack disasters. So, we need to have something like a response team, you know, to look at uh doing things like drills, training sessions for water distribution, power outages, and evacuations, designating shelters, or something like even cutting trees. I don't know if it has happened to you guys, but I've had trees fall in my property and it's such an issue to get them out. So, when we have an emergency, we have to have a team ready to respond. >> All right, thanks everyone. Now we'll move on to our next question and for this question we'll start with Sharon Miller. Question two. As mayor, what is one concrete action you would take in your first year to move Athens towards the goals of our clean and renewable energy plans for city facilities and the community? How would the public be able to see and track that progress? >> Ladies and gentlemen, I want us all to understand that as candidates, we are we are giving answers. Some are philosophical, some are actual, some will be for implementation. That first year of mayorship is one that is going to be uh filled with all of these 12 forums that we've had and everybody say, "Are you going to give attention to my concerns?" I've I've read and I digest the ACC clean and renewable energy plan. It is, in my opinion, very obtainable. But I am concerned, as I hear my comrades say, that there are so many missing parts of the link the lack of communications, the lack of transparency as to what's really going on with our various uh plans to implementation. How is that really going on? As mayor, I would like to view the measurable outcomes and I would like to uh be able to assess uh what they are currently, how far we have come. I'd like to work with the city manager. Remember that it is the city manager that runs the day-to-day operations of the city. I'd like to get with all the department heads to make sure that what we are supposed to be doing, implementation for our city safety, is being done. I would want to give a clear assessment of of those things and put those items about environmental and energy on the agenda. The mayor sets the agenda. I would like to make sure that this narrative come before the commissions, come before the commission for a discussion and accountability. And that's my plan of action and my time is up. >> You still have 5 seconds. >> That's okay. Um so I've I've thought about this and I think there are a variety of different steps, but one that I believe that is in reach is to immediately um collaborate with the Clark County School District. We have, if you've been following the progress of the West Broward School as well as the development of our Career Academy, one of the goals is to be able to build out our construction pathway. Now, one of the one of the goals that's been mentioned in the sustainability work is also paying attention to workforce. And being able to partner with technical schools. What better opportunity right now than to go ahead and start those conversations? In fact, I have started those conversations and just advocacy that as we develop out the building to be sure that we are working towards developing out the curriculum to be sure that we actually include a pathway for our students to be able to attain jobs in this particular field. One of the things I wanted to mention as I was researching in its 2024 resolution, the NAACP expressed that it would advocate for green jobs. So, this has to be it has to be collaborative work and it has to be work that is centered on equity. If we do not do that and we miss that opportunity to do that, we are really missing a large segment of the population to help us move this forward. And so, I would say capitalizing and being sure we are prepared to build out and offer those green jobs for our students. >> I'm waiting to let ahead start here. >> Go for it. >> All right. So, within that first year, what my what the policy I would pursue would be assigning what I've been talking about on the campaign trail a lot, inclusionary parking ordinance to committee so that we could have that put on the books. And so, to explain what that does is right now we have parking minimums. So, if developer wants to come in and build something out, they have a minimum number of parking spots they have to build even if the developer, because of the use of the building, says we don't need, you know, 200 parking spots. If right now it says that you do, you have to build this 200. So, what this ordinance would do was then give the option so if developer says, "Well, we don't need 200, we only need 150." Instead of building those 50 unnecessary parking spots, they could take half the cost of what it would cost for them to build that and put it into a multimodal transportation fund. And that fund, cuz basically what the developer is saying is that we don't need those car all those parking spots because people are going to get to our place because by walking, by biking, by public transit. And so, instead that funding would go towards building out the infrastructure for sidewalks, for multi-use trails, for bike lanes, for crosswalks, but also help us operate and expand our fare-free public transit system. Because all of those modes of transportation are much greener, much healthier for the climate and again, another big thing that would be missing is having less unnecessary impervious services which then contributes to storm water and and contributes to flooding. So to me this is a really a win-win-win situation. The developer's going to have some costs saved actually for the development. Hopefully that can actually result maybe in even some you know cheaper rents. We're going to have less unused parking spaces that are causing flooding and storm water issues plus we'll be able to expand our multi-modal, our sidewalks, our bike lanes and our public transit use. >> So I respect the goals that want to be achieved but we have to first consider financial constraints that we have. For people that don't know, our city manager about a month and a half ago came out in an article saying that for the last three budgets more or less, we've had to dip into our rainy day funds to balance our budget. Additionally, we have a $30 million infrastructure infrastructure but peak deficit per year. And this is something that the present commissioners have not addressed and it is a problem because if we're talking about needing more housing, we are going to need more infrastructure. And if we build upward, we have to make sure that it still has the capacity to be able to handle that. So all policies and programs must be evaluated to their critical priority and available resources. No sound decisions can be made apart from these considerations and it would be disingenuous to make promises that you're going to do all these things when you don't even know if you will have the resources available to do them. Given the fact that we need more housing, disaster preparedness, clean water and infrastructure maintenance and repair as outlined in other questions. >> So, so I'm probably was the only candidate when this issue started talking about infrastructure and what the impact is on this community and the things that we need in order for us to function. Uh we talked about more density in communities, but every time we talked about trying to add more density in our communities, the public comes out and say we don't want more density. You know, we don't want our neighborhood to be inundated with more and more housing. So, we have to look at smart growth first of all, the where the growth is going to go. We also got to look at our infrastructure, our water system, for all these all these things work. One of the things that we have not done, and let me say this, infrastructure problem has started way, way long ago before any of us got before I got on commission or before even Tim got on commission. So, so this has been a problem for this community for years. So, this is not something that just started. So, I need to put that out there so people understand that. But some of the things that we need to do is we need to start concentrating though on our infrastructure system in place because first of all, we got a crumbling infrastructure system and then I think we need to expand that out. And there is going to be a cost factor and we do have to look at it from a budget standpoint and from a cost standpoint. How are we going to do all this? How are we going to put this together? Now, one of the things that I do want to do, I think we can do this right away, is when we start tracking stuff, we need to put up a dashboard so you all will know how we're doing things or how things are going. We have not done that. That'll be the first thing that I'll do is put a dashboard together and say, "Hey, these are some of the things that we're looking at from an energy perspective, from an infrastructure perspective, and from a water perspective. How we're doing those things." Now, I do like the idea that Dr. Gat um mentioned about um jobs and green jobs. We need to start promoting those things. When industries are looking at to move here, we need to make sure that some of those industries are green job type industries. And I appreciate her appreciate her bringing that up those jobs are the ways of the future. They're good paying jobs. They really can help a lot of our young people stay in this community. So, that would be something that I would also advocate for as we move forward. >> All right. Thanks, everyone. So, our next question is a two-part question. I'm going to read the whole thing and maybe you can indicate to Aaron when you will start on the second part so he can time you for 1 minute for each part of the question. So, here we go. The Pinewoods community in Athens has struggled with access to reliable, clean, and running water for decades. Unfortunately, Pinewoods is not the only community that has experienced water issues. Hilliard Road residents were drinking contaminated water for years before the city intervened. So, for our first part, what do you plan to do to ensure all Athens residents have access to clean water? And second, what steps would you take to rebuild trust with communities that have previously experienced delayed or inadequate responses to environmental hazards? And we'll start with Dr. Cant this question. >> Um let me start by saying um I do agree with building out our infrastructure. I think working collaboratively with the the commission and community members and identifying where we need to start first to build this infrastructure. And I believe it's in those communities that have experienced a significant amount of environmental injustice. Another thing to mention is that equity, when we center this work on equity, it costs. And so, there are some budget implications that we have to be prepared for. But, these are situations that we probably could have addressed a little bit earlier when we worked on our water maps. And so this is where we are. And as a result, then these are These are steps that we have to take to build out infrastructure for these communities. Um For instance, when we think about the the Pineridge Road community, we are we might still be supplying water, but many of these families are still um consuming their well water, which means that there are still health implications that exist. And so I don't see how we get around this without building out taking the responsibility to build out infrastructure. The second part of that question, as far as steps that we will take I will take to rebuild trust within communities, I'd argue that I have an established um trusting relationship with a significant part um of families in these communities. And so I would plan to build on that, but it's not just an an individual job. I think that is where that the mayor and commission has to do to be in community. There's a good bit of cultural mistrust um that exists among and within communities when it comes to government. And so we have to work together as a collective body by being in community so that again, we can start to address these decades-old problems. >> So uh yeah, the situation with uh the water supply in Pinewoods, and then yes, going back uh even further to Pineridge Road, um should have never happened. And we have definitely dug a uh an infrastructure hole, uh no pun intended, uh that's that's is going to be very expensive for us to fill. And so, uh, we're going to have to look I mean, but it has to be a priority. We again, we have to make sure that the residents the all of the residents of this county are being taken care of. And definitely promises were made back during consolidation that have not been kept. Um, I would if if if elected, I would actually be the first, uh, mayor that's actually from outside of the old city limits that would be in the county part of Athens-Clarke County with the consolidated. And, um, so we need to we're likely going to have to spend a good chunk of our SPLOST money, uh, to deal with the long-term infrastructure issues. Um, and then some of the short-term such that they're going on with Pinewoods, um, I don't think we can wait till the next SPLOST. We're probably going to take some steps now to be able to deal with that. Um, uh, so we can get that addressed very quickly to make sure that those residents actually just have running water. Um, for the second part of this, uh, what steps do you want to take to rebuild trust? Um, that's going to be that's a long road. Um, I want to be a part of that. I'm not going to sit here and say like, oh, I'm a you get elected as mayor and we're going to rebuild all the trust, but I want to be a part of that. I think a big part of it is meeting people where they're at. When I ran for county commission, I ran with the promise that I was going to hold regular, uh, town hall meetings throughout my district on all different issues, whether it was the budget or public transit or uh, road repaving, um, fire EMS rescue response, all those kind of issues. And we would sit in with in groups, uh, meet at churches, meet at bars, meet at the park, meet at schools, and discuss these things with these constituents. I will be doing the same thing if I'm elected as mayor, holding these, uh, these town halls all across our county in the different parts of our community cuz it's not fair for us to expect the residents to engage with the county the mayor and commission to have to come to city hall on the the first Tuesday of the month. We should be going to them. >> I have to say I I cannot believe that we're talking about clean water in Athens. This is like a third world country problem. Um I think we first have to keep the promises to the people that uh we made 30 years ago more or less on infrastructure. That's one. Secondly, I have visited some of these locations that have problems with water, dirty water seeping out of the ground. Um you're talking about Clark Gardens and a couple of mobile parks. I have actually gone out there to see it for myself. And I have seen children playing in situations like this, which is horrible. Um I think clean water is a core responsibility of the local government whether it's on private or public systems. It is a basic necessity and I'll tell you why. Because we need that for our health. Clean water should be something that the government has to address immediately. Um the most important thing for me is to invest in infrastructure. Is time up? >> For the first part. >> Oh. Okay. For the second question is the plain and simply, we have to act. I think this is very important because having a business that deals with um environmental hazards, quick response is necessary. So, I do believe that we should have like a hotline that citizens can call so that environmental issues can be addressed immediately. That's what I think we should have a hotline and something that we can respond to quickly. >> So, for clean water, it is really not an option. It really is a responsibility of the government. So, some of the things that we really need to do is some of these properties that we're talking about are owned by um private companies. We need to partner with those companies, talk with them and say, "How can we as a government you get clean water to the residents that live there. That would be priority number one. How do they get them to tap into our water system? I just had a conversation with a UJA professor who works with our water department here on campus. And I said this earlier night to somebody to come into our water system is one of the best water system in the country. The problem we got is the affected areas, underserved areas that don't don't have the privilege to use our system. And we got to get that out there to them and make that should that they have clean drinking water and that should never have to be a priority for those neighborhoods. So some of the things I would take a look at would expand our water quality. And also we would make sure we would also look at replacing aging and pipes. For the second question, um trust. And I said this publicly if y'all watch in our meet in our meetings. This community don't trust our government and that's unfortunate. We have not done a very good job of communicating with you all. From day one and I said that my first 100 days I'm going to be out in those streets in every community, in every district talking about what do we need to do as a commission to help you make your life better. That's one thing I would promise you all that we would do that and I'll get my colleagues on board. They better put on their running shoes cuz we're going to be very aggressive in those things. And having quality water, quality energy, all those things come into play. And a lot of times people put out press conferences to say things but we need to do action. So I'm going to be about doing the action, making sure that we have clean water and that people will be proud of living in this community, feeling safe of the water that they drink cuz I think that that should be a priority. Shouldn't have to we shouldn't have to worry about things like that. That should be a priority for all our residents that live here in Clark County. >> Ladies and gentlemen, I'm going to go to my answer first and I'm going to come back with my empathy perspective uh as it relates to the citizens. I bring to the table as a leader background in the federal government securing funds. I want to be a mayor who secure additional external funds for our government. Uh just on March 16th, six Georgia communities were awarded $2.0 million in grant to address water standards through the GEFA. Those here may know that. Georgia Environmental uh Financial Authority. I want to uh be able to apply so that our city can be on the names of being a recipient recipient of receiving money so that our city can have partnership to address the needs as it relates to clean water. That is one thing that I want to bring. As it relates to the second part of this question, I'm doing good, is that I want to acknowledge the deplorable occurrences of neglect to the citizens of Pittman Road and Pinewood, respectfully. I have worked with uh families for over 30 years as an ordained clergy. I have seen people at their worst. I have dealt with uh people at their highest peak. I understand what it means to build trust. I bring the duality of my skills from the professional and that of the platform of connecting with a human experience to this candidacy. I would meet with the with the residents myself. I would apologize again for the occurrences that happened to their lives. I will follow uh the direction of our leadership uh, in these various departments to make sure that our water system remains at its best quality, to make sure our citizen get what they need for their daily lives. >> All right, thanks everyone. I want to give a quick reminder about the audience questions. If you have your question, please write it down on the note card that you got at the beginning and start to pass them towards the person closest to the aisle. And then our volunteers, uh, and Francis and Taden back there will go ahead and collect them. So, just a reminder about that. Now, I'm going to move on to asking the next question. For this question, we'll start with Tim Denson. Gas-powered cars are the most common way we get around Athens, but they do cause many problems like air pollution, carbon dioxide emissions, and also crashes that can cause injury or death. Other forms of transportation like walking, buses, and bikes don't cause these problems to the same degree, are less expensive, and even come with significant health benefits. Do you think that reducing the number of car miles traveled in Athens is a good idea? If so, describe how you would increase the availability or desirability of these alternate modes of transportation. >> Yeah, thanks for the question. And I definitely do think it is, uh, worth it for us to try to reduce the number of miles driven. Think everybody would want that. You want to be able to get wherever you're going as fast as possible, and that's if you are a car driver or anything else. Um, but we definitely need to be in trying to increase the amount of people who can, uh, use multimodal transportation options, especially the bus. One of the reasons that I'm such a big public advocate for public transit is because it is this perfect, uh, Venn diagram of of uh economic justice issues, uh environmental justice, um racial justice, everything overlaps. Uh public transit really helps us get to a lot of the goals that we need as a community. And um speaking of going back to the inclusionary parking ordinance, that talks about a way that we can raise new revenue, not have to go back and get revenue that we already are strapped at the county, but raise new revenue sources that we can then use to pay for um public transit operation, but also the creation of more sidewalks, bike lanes, crosswalks, multi multi-use trails. Cuz we do need to be expanding that because honestly, we cannot keep growing as a community, as a country, as a world creating more and more gas uh gas engines that are that are creating the climate change issues, one of the biggest increases of climate change. Um so if we're serious about this, and this is what the whole talk is up here, right? It's the whole point of this forum, then we need to have a mayor who is committed to that and has a plan for us to actually do so. Um I also definitely push for us to have our county vehicles to be transitioning to electric vehicles. On the on the school board, uh we voted to get uh the first purchase of electric buses. And we need to be doing the same thing when it comes to the county buses. And again, we need to make sure we have a mayor who's committed to that and who's going to fight for it. And that's one of the reasons I was very uh concerned and uh that in April 2025, uh Commissioner Fisher here actually voted no on transitioning our county fleet to electric vehicles. We need a mayor who's going to fight for these things and believes in them and actually get it done. >> We'll go to Mara Sweeney next whenever you're ready. >> I think it's a good idea. Um I lived in New York for 30 years. Uh public transportation is very important there. And I do believe in our bus expansion. What I Where I do disagree with 10, it's in reference to the free ridership. Just like there are people here in Athens who don't mind paying higher taxes if they see results for their taxes, I do believe that people won't mind paying for their fares if they can afford a fare. I would instill vouchers for indigent people because I do believe that there are folks that can afford to pay a fare. Maybe they're looking for a job or have some other financial situation. So, I do believe in vouchers for them. However, in order for us to expand our buses, we do need to charge fares. And coming up with theoretical solutions as to the funding, I think that's what it is, theoretical. So, we can when we have a surplus in our budget, we can go back to free ridership because we will have a surplus. But for now, being again, like I said to you, the city manager has said we're looking at a financial precipice. We have to address, you know, our finances first before we look at that. So, we can't depend on theoretical solutions for our funding. We have to look at actual solutions. And for that, we have to collect fares and give vouchers, like I said, to people that need it. >> Can I Can I address Mr. Denson um >> No. >> I can't Okay. Okay. It's not fair, but that's okay. Anyway, I think some of the things actually one of the conversations that I'm having right now with the University of Georgia, when freshmen come to live here or come to attend school, they have to live in the dorm. And one of the things that I'm suggesting to them and recommending to them that they not allow freshmen to bring cars their first year. I think that would be a great great great opportunity to reduce cars in this community. So, that's one of the things I'm looking at. When you talk about how we get around town, the transit is one of the best ways to get out of town, get around town. We're expanding, well the community is asking us to expand. They don't only expand out further, they want to come earlier and staying later. That comes at a cost. And again, how are we going to pay for that cost? It just passed for the T-SPLOST now, we can't use the T-SPLOST money to pay for fares. So, the money got to come from somewhere. So, for for one reason that I did vote against that, because how are we going to pay for it? So, you just can't give things away, give things away and not say, "Okay, we got How are we going to pay for it?" That's why I was against that. If we found a way that we could fund this and do it, so be it. But, I'm just not going to vote for something to say, "Hey, this is the way we need to go, this is what we need to do, because it's going to be free for everybody." It comes at a cost. We can't just give away things. And there's going to be some repercussions. And there's going to be a sustainability issue. How do you sustain these over the years? And we want to increase our routes, and we want to add more hours, that comes at a cost. Now, what I would do if we go back to charging young people from infants to 18 would ride free. Our senior citizens would ride free. Everybody in between would would be a cost. Um like Marvin said, we can we can do vouchers. That's what we did before. So, there was a way that we can partner to make these things work. Also, when we was paying, UJA was kicking in a million dollars a year to support the bus bus system. So, those type of conversations that we need to have as we move forward. >> Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to answer that question this way. In a reduction of gas-driven transportation to the environment, it's a good thing for those who find value in that and see walkable mode of transportation as a better option. I'd like to see our social visual infrastructure enhance so that our residents for residents who deem it helpful for their communities similar to the BeltLine in the Atlanta area. Wonderful concept. It it enhances green space, economic growth and development, community engagement. It's wonderful sociability, bike lanes, playgrounds, and walkable lanes. It's a wonderful concept. We have to be able to take the brakes off here in Athens-Clarke County and invest not just in our community, not just in one area, but promote a safe healthy community for all Athenians. There again, I want to chase after funds externally. I have three listed on my paper, but one is very wonderful EPA Green Street GC Grant is a wonderful infrastructure a grant that deals with green space and gives us the opportunity to chase and be able to provide for residents who want certain platform and development in their community, we can offset that by chasing after external funds. I am the mayor who can make that happen so that at least we can begin to build communities that we don't have to fight over one particular general fund of money, but be able to provide for all our districts whatever their model of community safety and livability is. I support that as mayor. >> So, the question was do you think that reducing the number of car miles traveled is a good idea? Yes. Um and describe how you would increase the availability um, of different modes of transportation and it mentioned walking. I want to sort of provide some context and what and I'll say I've said this before, but equity and redress costs. That's the truth of it. If we are going to expand um, transportation as we should um, and if we are going to build infrastructure, I do by the way, I do think there is a way. It's not the only path, but there's a path forward with us narrowing uh, some of our splost projects, but if we are going to do that work, we have to be sure that we don't do it based on an idea. I was at um, Cathwood yesterday, maybe the day the day before, and meant to go back and actually record it, but I didn't have anyone with me and I was worried about my safety as far as driving and just walking. Um, but there's a bus stop that sits there and there is no sidewalk. There's a um, facility, a skilled nursing facility on down the street. There's um, there's a housing apartment. There's a neighborhood. There's another housing. Um, I saw someone on a bike. Unfortunately, that's not the only example. So, when we talk about expanding transportation options, we we have to talk about quantity, but quality as well. Like how do we get equitable spaces for individuals when we want them to walk more? We can't say walk more, but then risk your life to get to the bus stop. And so, I would like to see us really narrow our focus with the funding that we do have. I want to acknowledge again that this work will cost and the work that Mr. Denson Mr. Denson mentioned earlier on sustainability and purchasing buses, I initiated that work. >> All right. Now, we're ready for the last question that's pre-prepared and we'll start with Maria I get for this one. It's another two-part question. So, we'll have 1 minute per part again. In the past few years, data centers have popped up all across the United States. Data centers use large amounts of energy and water. The current mayor and commission are developing a data center zoning ordinance for Athens. What is your position on data center development in Athens? For the second part, as mayor, how will you stay abreast of emerging environmental issues and ensure that Athens is prepared to face new challenges? >> Well, first let me say that I I understand the need for uh data centers. But, I don't think data centers are a good fit for Athens. Um I'm really disappointed at the ban that was lifted and it was done so unanimously unanimously by our local officials. And this kind of kind of move and pushed them forward, which I was really disappointed with because one of the first data centers that went up without the community's knowledge was in my area. And I asked commissioners, I wrote them emails to find out what was going up there. And never was I told. And before I knew it, it went up. So, um I believe that we have to stay informed with things like that because data centers uh they're they're going to be here and they're popping up. And my time is up. >> We got the second part. >> Oh, okay. The second part is is actually staying informed, um having accurate information, actual statistics, rather than anecdotal evidence, and promoting and prioritizing our environmental stewardship. Because too many times we hear excuses from our local officials about why they didn't know about the information of why data centers were coming up. That I don't understand. I think if you're an elected official, you should have that kind of information accessible to you. But what I heard it from a lot of commissioners is that we didn't know it was coming up. That's why we weren't able to inform the community. And we had another another data center that was supposed to come up next to Coile school. Which the whole community came out because we said this is not going to happen a second time. It would have been across the street, by the way, almost. Two data centers in the same area if it were not for our community that became informed. We became informed, nobody told us. We just were active. >> So So on the data center, and I know that our last forum um I was asked why we didn't know. There is something in our ordinance called built by right. Georgia Power was a is a public utility company. Built that data center. They not have to tell the planning commission, they not have to tell the commission. They can build it by right. So no none of the commissioners knew now. Did somebody know? Not sure. But we never knew that that data center was going in place. One of the things that I have advocated for and pushed for as we continue to go through this process about our data centers is no public service utility can come in by right to put a data center without informing the commissioners or the planning commission this is going to happen. So I'm saying put that in our ordinance so it doesn't happen. We do a lot of by right building in this community and people don't know. The one that came up by coal, the reason we know cuz there was a private developer that was going to do that and we got and the community got ahead of that. So that was the right thing to do. As for staying ahead of our environmental issues, I think as mayor I would partner with UGA, Athens-Clarke Tech, and get real-time environmental monitoring and policy input. Maintaining a uh standing advisory panel. That's been one of the things that's been asked of the community that we have an advisory committee on data centers and things and I I would advocate for that. And also we would ensure that staff is working with state and local federal environmental development for as it stand here of compliance and everything that we're doing. So I think it's important that we get ahead of these things, that we be aggressive, let's don't react, let's start planning now so we can get ahead of these things. Data centers are not a good fit in our community. Some communities may welcome them because they need the tax base, but for us it's not a good fit. So as long as I'm on this commission, as long as I'm mayor, I will never vote for or or push for it on the agenda for data centers in our community. >> On this question, if I may take a moment of privilege to say to my fellow colleague uh Fisher, he said it as I said in another forum that it is our responsibility as leaders to know what's going on in our community. That is our responsibility. As it relates to our young people coming to the city and not having cars, that is something that has to be negotiated with UGA Board of Regents. I want to say that on my paper I have mute no more gone as it relates to data center. I think that is a discussion that we we we uh dodged the bullet this time and uh I think that uh none of us would want that to come up in our mayorship. So, for now, we are safe. And if I am a mayor, I would safeguard it not being a data center being built in our city. How would I keep abreast? I have 8 seconds on the first question. Doing good. I would want to uh stay in partnership and build partnership with the partners who hosted this environmental uh forum today. You are a good base for us to start and I would uh take privilege and honor to build relationship with you. I said in one forum last week, our ability to reach across the aisle, I would, if I am mayor, make it my business to get on the governor's list of engagement to get our needs down to the gold dome and reach across the aisle for support as it relates to our infrastructure, our roads, our development. I would be an engaged mayor on behalf of our city to make sure we may not always get everything we want, but I would be a leader to implement change and fight that we certainly get some of those things that we need. >> Okay. Um so, what is my position on data center development in Athens? Data centers do not belong in Athens. I, you know, yes, we have one here and there was a threat of a second one coming. And so, as it relates to the work of the mayor and commission, I think it is actually um I think it's a good thing that they are strengthening the language because you can have a a moratorium on anything, okay? A moratorium can be a great statement of value, but it has the potential to be performative if it's not followed up by ordinances and more teeth. And so I do think that there was work that needed to be done on strengthening the ordinances. Um there were nuances there. As it relates to the data center that we already have, um what needs to happen for instance, um when that data center um is no longer used. And so I don't think that they belong here. I do think we have to strengthen our ordinances so that should we run into the situation that we are running into right now, we have a data center. Uh we need to be able to be sure that there are stringent um policies and practices for that particular data center. Secondly, uh regarding um being abreast of emerging environmental issues, I want to say that this goes back to trust. There's a way in which Athens is uniquely positioned. We have scientists. We have organizations. We have people that are already knowledgeable about this work. Our work becomes bridging the gap. And so it's impossible for a mayor and a commissioner to know everything, although I do think that this was something that we should have known. But one of the next best things we can do is build capacity in our community. And that is not a a new idea. There are organizations that build the capacity of communities to know and watch for developments like this that could harm the community. >> So, like everyone has said, data centers don't belong here in Athens. Uh I have uh I do not see the benefit that they would bring to Athens, but I do know what the costs are and the costs are very great. Um so they have no they have no place here. Um one of my concerns though is in nearby counties uh them having data centers and then us having the repercussions of those data centers being in nearby counties also on our water supply. I mean, our our water all of our water comes from from the rivers that flow through here. Upriver we have to make sure that that that water is being cleaned as it comes down, too. Also, impacts on the electrical grid of counties surrounding us are going to impact us just as much also. So, we can protect ourselves and we have to protect ourselves here now. But we also need to be working on the state level and working outside of ourselves cuz we do not live in a silo. And I already have those connections with folks on that state level. Whenever Peter Hubbard, the public service commissioner, wanted to hold a data center town hall here in Athens-Clarke County, he called me because we know each other and he knew that I knew the people that we needed to get in touch with so we could make a fantastic town hall that had hundreds of people come out and learn about those things. I I have those connections and I and and I and I I rely on those connections. If I'm mayor, I would continue to. I also served on the board of the Georgia Conservation Voters for for years and they have now endorsed me because they know that I've been working on these issues for years. I'm not new to this. I know who to talk to. I've taken the right votes. I've taken the right steps and I will continue to do so if I'm elected mayor. And then definitely just working with yes, the experts that we have here in in Athens already. The fantastic groups that are sponsoring this. The the intellect that we have at the University of Georgia. All of these experts here with the EPA office. We need to be working closer with them. Just with my 19 seconds left, I do want to go back on the public transit. Everybody talked about well, we'll have vouchers but we'll charge fares but not for students and not for seniors. Here's the thing, we spend $800,000 a year on a fare box to collect $2 million. If you give out free free fares to seniors, to students, and to the and to low income individuals, you would now spending $800,000 on fair box that collect $800,000 in fares. It doesn't make sense. >> All right. Thanks so much everyone. Let's all thank our panelists. All right. Now we'll go into a couple audience questions. Our aim is to go we have about 10 minutes total left. So let's go ahead and do like 1 minute response for each person for and I'm just going to start with the question that is on the top. So here we go. How can and let's go ahead and we can start with Commissioner Fisher for this round. So how can ACC overcome the discontinuance of subsidies for residential and commercial to obtain solar energy and would you enact solar energy requirements for new construction? >> Very good question. Solar energy is very important to our community. I do know at the new Carmichael we put on solar energy panels there. One of the things that I was talking to some people earlier about this. Solar power it should be the power of the future for us how we should go as a community. Whether or not we can enact that legislation, we have to see if we have to take a legal perspective to see whether or not we can do that. I'm not a lawyer, but if we can do it, I would enact that, but if we can't do it, then we have to come up with other alternatives and see if people be willing to put solar panels on their homes as they build out because what will happen with new construction, that's the easiest way to get those things done We doing doing that time. Go ahead and incorporate into that cost so it won't be so costly once you get the house built or get the building built and you have to put the panels on now. So, I would try to make sure they incorporate that into that cost. But, I think we have to look at it from a legal standpoint and see whether or not we can do that. >> As mayor, I concur. I would certainly explore the policy before making any moves. While solar panel initiatives are very, very expensive and as we are trying to solve our environmental and other serious needs that we have here in in our county, that would certainly be a consideration to bring before the commissioners. But, at cost, we would certainly have to view what the cost is as it relates to budget. And so, as a mayor, I would cautiously explore this option. For ending, the engagement of the residents have to agree if they want that on their homes or not. So, it's it's a complex situation, but it is an environmental initiative that is of value to some of our residents. >> I would I would agree. Yes, so I do think that I think it's important solar energy requirements and also just being sure that we we increase the urgency. There's a way in which you can communicate as a unified body that lets the developer, lets other people know that this is important to you. And I think that that so that's one thing. Yes, it's important that we we have solar energy requirements, but also being sure that we actually support programs towards other initiatives. So, for instance, weatherization of homes. Part of this is being able to bridge the gap and and build the trust with communities so that they then begin to understand um solar requirements and the the benefits. Um lastly, I will also say there's an opportunity, I believe even now when we look at like how we distribute some of our grants and some of our fundings. As a person who has received funding from Clark County, um it's important that we highlight that as a priority and I don't believe that we do that right now in um our grants for at least small businesses. >> So, I I do not uh support us putting a requirement uh right now when we are already having a housing crisis and and drastically need more affordable housing. Um I don't think it makes sense for us to put solar requirements on there which would of course greatly increase the cost of housing. But, I do think we should be incentivizing it. And any kind of public building, any kind of uh building that's being built with county dollars, yes, definitely should be required. Just like whenever I was in the commission, we negotiated back and forth until we got the one of the largest solar arrays uh in this whole area on the top of the Classic Center. Um so, we need to continue doing that. I do believe uh cuz that we need to be cutting the red tape when it takes when somebody's trying to get solar put on their homes. I got solar put on my homes a few years ago and it was uh there was actually so much back and forth you had to get you had to get it uh approved by so many different entities. I want the county to cut as much red tape as possible and that we should instead of maybe putting solar requirements be putting energy efficiency requirements in place uh because then the residents, especially low-income residents, will be benefiting from those cost savings. >> I do agree with him. I think if you tell developers that they have to have Can you hear me? Can you hear me? I can hear you now. If you tell developers that they have to require them to do solar panels, it will increase the price of building. And we do have an affordability problem. So, I I I tried to do that on my own property, actually, to get solar panels, and there was lack of resources, it was expensive, we went back and forth, and and unlike Tim, I was unable to do it. It was too expensive. Um so, I do do think it's difficult. It's something that we have to look at because it is costly, and I do agree we should look more into energy efficiency. That would be the way to go. >> Wonderful. We'll ask one more audience question, and then we'll go into the closing statement after that. So, we'll start with Sharon Miller for the answer to this question. It has been said that one man's green space is another man's affordable housing. Do Do you think that the two are mutually exclusive, or do you think they can coexist from a financial standpoint? So, we'll do 1 minute again for your response. >> I am running for mayor. I I don't want to be run out of town. Uh in answering that question, it's it's an individual toss-up. What's important to someone else may not be as important to another. And as mayor, a mayor has to govern down the middle to safeguard balance that one entity or community, a district, may not always get what they want. But it is that mayor's role to superintend and to show balance by putting those things on the agenda that both sets of needs are addressed. So, it's a strategic plan and a strategic cost for a candidate to answer something that is beyond their ability at this level. >> So interesting to answer or address in 60 seconds, but green space and affordable housing has existed. I grew up in a neighborhood a couple of miles from here. A housing project which had affordable housing and we had a big field. We would call it the the baseball and football field. But now that it's been redeveloped that's no longer there. There is no green space. And so I don't want us to I don't want us to fall down the the path of thinking that these have to be mutually exclusive. They do not have to be mutually exclusive. But what that also means is that we cannot be overly focused on increased density for student housing. I do believe that that eventually impacts especially neighborhoods that are surrounding your downtown areas where there's high density. It impacts the likelihood of those areas being able to have green space. Um so Oh, okay. Thank you. >> Yeah, the the thing is that uh we have some things that are just non-negotiables and to me that is green space. To me that is ensuring that we are fighting climate change and ensuring that we have a tree canopy that keeps the temperatures down here in our community those things. Um so we cannot sacrifice that to have the affordable housing. Yet we still need the affordable housing. So how do we have it? Yes, we do have it for density and I'm not talking about student housing here. I'm talking about affordable housing for all of us so that we can bring down housing costs for every single person here in Athens. And the way we can do that without having to sacrifice our forests, without having to sacrifice our water quality, without having to sacrifice uh the cost of of pushing services and infrastructure out to the edges edges of the county, the way we can do that is through density instead. And we have had studies come through that showed what parts of our community can actually take that kind of density, that missing middle density. And when we talk about density, we're not talking about skyscrapers here. We're talking about small cottage courts. We're talking about small apartment buildings. We're talking about triplexes, quadruplexes. Things used to be normal back before the 1970s, but have changed. >> I don't really see how we can have one or the other. I do believe we can have both. We can install green space into affordable housing. I mean, we have a world elite university here, great minds. We have architects in town that have come up with ideas. I've seen plans from some friends that work in architectural firms that have shown me ideas for how to implement green spaces to housing. So, I do think that they can coexist. That's That's my opinion. We just have to come up with great ideas. I do believe we have the great minds here in in Athens, but a lot of times we're just, you know, go back to some comfort zone where we're just saying, you know, this is the norm. Well, let's think outside the box, right? That's what innovation is all about. It's thinking outside the box. So, I think those two things can coexist. >> And I agree with Tamara on that one also. I just met with her actually a graduate student at UGA who's majoring in urban planning. And it's interesting that question came up. She's developing how green space and housing can coexist. So, I what I said to her, I said, "Once you're done, I'd love to see the finished product and see what that looks like." All those bright minds that we have at UGA, all those young people that we're looking that can help us do those. So, yeah, I think they can coexist. Now, Mr. Denson keep talking about density. He used to one who advocated for a 1,400 student um apartment downtown that's going to push out young African-American people that but they cuz they can't go to the community center built right across street from cuz they're building a 450 um car garage that's going to be right in front of the um community center. So, when he talks about density and things like that, that's what he's advocating for. And when you have more student housing, your cost going to go up in this community. What we got to look at is look at smart building and figure out how we where that growth would go and they can coexist together. >> All right. Thanks for all the audience questions. We'll move on now to our closing statements. So, everybody has 1 minute again for your final hurrah and we'll start with Dr. Gantt this time. >> I should have changed my closing statement a few times, but let's see what I can get out. Um I'll start with I am Lakisha Gantt. I am asking for your vote for mayor. Um I'm a native Athenian. I have seen this city change in a variety of different ways that has overlooked the voices and the needs of unheard communities. What we did not hear tonight is how the importance of sidewalks and infrastructure and multi-use paths can actually help. We have not talked about our communities uh with disability dis- disabilities, excuse me. We have not talked about our veteran population. So, Clark County has done a great job with ideas, but something has been missing. And I don't want these efforts to fall down that same path. We have to bridge the community so that we can tackle issues such as sustainability. Or else, we will be in the same place 10 years from now talking about the ideas, the things that we've done, but we will continue to leave communities out. >> Um I've been sitting down too long. All right. So I am again Ten Denson running for mayor of Athens-Clarke County. And whenever I was commissioner, whenever I was school board member, I ran with looking at policies with a a lens for sustainability, environmental justice. If I'm elected mayor, I will be doing the same. You can see look at my campaign even also. Instead of having plastic corrugated yard signs, we have paper-based yard signs, so they're not going to stick around literally for generations to come. And I'm not littering my yard signs along right-of-ways on public roads. They're in people's front yards. Um and so if you see me out on my bike, give me a give me a wave. Um and I hope that you'll support me because I will be that mayor who is forward-thinking and is not just aware of what the problems are, but is working on coming up with solutions. Cuz we can talk about the problems in circles, around and around and around, but what we're trying to elect here is somebody who's actually going to have an answer to those problems. We've all know what the problems are. They've been put put up on the board. But who has actual solutions? And yes, some of them are theoretical. That's how that's how solutions start, y'all. We have to start somewhere. If I'm elected, I will try and I will succeed. Thank you. >> So tonight we've heard a lot of beautiful words, a lot of future promises, but most of the people on this panel have been in policy for the past years. And I want you to ask yourself, have they made a difference? Are we are where we want to be? Have solutions prevailed, and have we moved forward in a lot of the things that are to you. Well, I live as life every day. For me, it's not an idea. It's something I do every day. I try to come up with sustainable solutions on a personal level, and I believe that I can be an advocate for you guys. Why? Because I understand hazards in the environment, and I am a steward to our environment. So, we need new leadership. That's where we're at. We need someone with a new vision and with fresh passion. Thank you. >> So, I think at the end of the day, what does it boil down to is stewardship. How do we want Athens to look over the next 5, 10, 15 years? I've done this work before, probably the only candidate up here who's done this work before, who had boots on the ground before, who understands about sustainability, who started a recycling program at UGA that turned into a sustainable office. So, I've done this type of work. I understand about organization and what we need to do with housing, cuz I'm a facilities guy. I understand how things work. I I know how operations work. I'm the only candidate here who have led those efforts in his job, and also with our commission. Rome wasn't built in a day. We're going to need a a leader who understands that, who's going to be from day one hitting the ground running. Cuz there's not a only job training. You got to have somebody who know how to connect the dots, and from day one, I can do that. I want to be your next mayor. I can make those tough decisions. I can lead this community in the right direction moving forward. I'm Dexter Fischer, and I'm running for mayor. >> Ladies and gentlemen, I'm Sharon My motto is simple. It says I aim to work for and with the citizens of Athens. I'm new. I'm not a polished politician. But I am committed and I know the human experience. I bring the duality of being a coordinator of three municipalities when I worked in the wonderful famed TAP project. I know what it means to lead. And I want Athens' image to rise. I want us to be beyond being the poorest county out of 159. I I want that to be different for us. And I want to lead and leave this city better than I found it. I'm Sharon Miller. I'm very confident that my policy and my belief in polity and partnership will be key to lead us to future growth. Sharon Miller. >> All right. Thanks so much everyone. Please, on your way out, if you didn't sign in, please do. And please visit the tables on your way out as well. And thank you to the library for allowing us to use it.